See Also

There's already a ton of research into the negative effects of diet soda, including the fact that drinking it makes you hungry, and concerns over carginogenicity. Now it turns out it can destroy your teeth.

People who drink diet soda for its sugar-free content should know that the artificial sweeteners used instead can rot tooth enamel, according to The Guardian (via Jezebel).

Sorbitol, an artificial sweetener found in diet beverages and sugar-free gum, will eat away at enamel and, according to the British Dental Journal, "ultimately cause teeth to dissolve."

Diet alternatives are usually billed as the healthy option, which makes this news all the more surprising.

Another tooth-harming substitute found in Diet Coke, xylitol, is allowed to be marketed in Europe as "tooth friendly."

The dissolving occurs because of increased acidity in our saliva. As Coca-Cola itself admits on their website, "dental erosion generally occurs from exposure to certain acids found in various foods and beverages."

While we wouldn't call the inclusion of these sweeteners insidious, many people who buy diet beverages and foods probably have no idea that the stuff keeping their drink sweet is probably just as bad for them as sugar.